Type

Subjects

Creator

City

County

Description

The life-size bronze sculpture of Queen Charlotte stands in a garden along with sculptures of two of her dogs. She is depicted wearing a long-sleeved gown with petticoat and train and holds a small bouquet of flowers in her right hand. On her right wrist she wears a bracelet with a cameo of her husband, King George III of England. One dog playfully jumps at the hem of her dress and the other stands amidst the plantings staring back at her with a look of devotion. An inscribed plaque is set in the brick walkway beneath the raised garden bed.

Inscription

QUEEN CHARLOTTE WALKS IN HER GARDEN / GRAHAM WEATHERS / SCULPTOR AMERICAN 1988 / IN 1761, COLONIAL AMERICANS WERE FASCINATED BY THE ROYAL / WEDDING OF ENGLANDS KING GEORGE III TO A 17 YEAR-OLD GERMAN / PRINCESS. CHARLOTTE SOPHIA OF THE DUCHY OF MECKLENBBURG-STRELITZ / SETTLERS HERE WERE REBELLIOUS TOWARD THE KING AND HIS AGENTS BUT / NAMED THEIR TOWN AND COUNTY IN HER HONOR, IN HOPES OF GAINING / ROYAL FAVOR. / SHE WAS A SMALL WOMAN “EASY, GENTEEL, AND AGREEABLE,” WHO / BORE 15 CHILDREN, PLAYED THE HARPSICHORD, LEARNED BOTANY, AND / TOOK PLEASURE IN KEW AND RICHMOND GARDENS. HER DOGS, ONE NAMED / PRESTO, FOLLOWED HER ON DAILY WALKS. HER APPEARANCE AND / INFORMAL APPAREL ARE MODELED AFTER PORTRAITS IN ENGLISH MUSEUMS. / KING GEORGE III, PLAGUED BY RECURRING ILLNESS, CALLED HER / “MY PHYSICIAN MY FRIEND” SHE IS REMEMBERED AS A GREAT BENEFACTOR / OF HOSPITALS. QUEEN CHARLOTTE WAS THE GRANDMOTHER OF QUEEN VICTORIA. / “SHE IS FULL OF SENSE AND GRACIOUSNESS. MINGLED WITH DELICACY OF / MIND AND LIVELINESS OF TEMPER” / FANNY BURNEY, COURT ATTENDANT AND NOVELIST OF THE PERIOD. / “A MOST AGREEABLE COUNTENANCE, VASTLY GENTEEL, WITH AN AIR / NOT WITHSTANDING HER BEING A LITTLE WOMAN. TRULY MAJESTIC.” / A NOBLEWOMAN REPORTS THE QUEEN’S CORONATION, 1761

Public Site

Yes

Materials & Techniques

Bronze

Sponsors

The Queen's Table

Subject Notes

Queen Charlotte, also known as Charlotte of Mecklenburg, was the queen consort of King George III of Great Britain, and is the namesake of the largest North Carolina city, Charlotte, and Mecklenburg County where the city is located. She studied botany and was a patron of the arts.

"Queen Charlotte Walks in Her Garden" sculpture is incorporated into the Charlotte Liberty
Walk, a public/private partnership celebrating the revolutionary
history of the City of Charlotte. This 1 mile trail dedicated in 2012
links important sites in the revolutionary history of Charlotte. The Queen Charlotte sculpture is Marker 12.
Other markers along the walk include the
Liberty
Hall (Marker 4);
Battle of
Charlotte (Marker 1);
Ishmael
Titus (Marker 2);
Indian
Trading Path (Marker 3), and
British
Encampment plaque (Marker 6).

Location

The sculpture sits in front of the entrance to the World Trade Center on North College Street at the corner of East 5th Street in Charlotte. It faces the street.

Landscape

The sculpture sits in an hexagonal raised garden composed of brick and containing seasonal plantings. It is surrounded by other raised beds containing seasonal plantings.

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